Suddenly, I remembered the little radish I left in the shabby room before! I hurriedly said to Zhang, "Um... can I trouble you to go out for a moment? I... want to change clothes..."
"Tsk!" Zhang disdainfully looked at me, chuckled, and said, "We're both men, if you want to change, go ahead, what's there to be shy about..."
After much persuasion, I finally managed to get Zhang out of the room and quickly closed the door. Then I began searching the room and called out in a low voice, "Little radish, where are you? Come out quickly..."
However, to my disappointment, the room was empty, and there was no sign of the little radish. No matter how I called, the little guy never appeared...
"This... could it be that it's already gone?"
With a suspicious look on my face, I quickly changed into some clothes, composed myself, and opened the door again.
But when I opened the door, I was shocked by the scene in front of me—Lao Zhang was back!
"You..." Looking at the smiling Lao Zhang, I couldn't help but shudder and subconsciously took two steps back.
"Hmm?"
Old Zhang looked at me suspiciously and said with a puzzled expression, "What's wrong? Haven't seen you for a few days, and you don't recognize me anymore?"
As he spoke, Old Zhang had already walked straight into the room, and I naturally followed, asking, "Who is this....?"
"Oh!"
It was only then that I realized what was happening and quickly introduced, "This is Old Zhang, an elder of mine!"
While introducing Old Zhang to Zhang Ge, I kept my eyes on Old Zhang, intending to question him about the situation at the hospital. But seeing the dust and fatigue on his face, I hesitated to bring it up.
Could it be that I was mistaken?
Was the person at the hospital not actually Old Zhang? Or was everything I saw just an illusion?
"Huh?"
Sharp-eyed as he was, Old Zhang clearly noticed that something was off about my expression. He immediately threw what he was holding onto the bed and asked, "What's going on with you? Why do I feel there's something strange in your eyes?"
"Hey, you've got to understand, this kid has been in a coma for five days and nights. He just woke up. He's probably not feeling well..."
Before I could answer, Zhang Ge eagerly explained to Old Zhang.
"What? Five days and nights?"
Old Zhang was stunned on the spot, then asked with a serious face, "What on earth happened?"
Seeing his worried expression, it didn't seem like an act. Could it be that I really misunderstood him?
"Well, the thing is..."
After much hesitation, I finally told him the whole story about the 14th floor, but I certainly kept my suspicions about him to myself!
While speaking, my gaze remained fixed on Old Zhang's face, carefully observing his changing expressions!
"Oh my! Can this be true?"
After listening to me, Old Zhang was visibly shocked. He had only just sat down, but almost instinctively jumped up from his chair, a look of disbelief on his face. "Could it be true that the legend is real? Does the 14th floor really exist in the hospital?"
"You don't know?"
Old Zhang's reaction made me even more perplexed. If he was acting, his performance was enough to put those so-called "movie stars" to shame!
From his performance, I couldn't find any loopholes!
"Nonsense! I've been wandering in the deep mountains and old forests these past few days. How could I possibly know? Do you really think I can foresee the future?"
Looking somewhat exasperated, Old Zhang gave me a glare and then opened the package.
Click! He actually brought back a big bag of rocks and roots?
This... Is this what you found for me as foundation materials??
"Uh..."
I was speechless. I glanced at the contents of the package with some annoyance and said, "Don't tell me these are the materials you found for me to build a foundation?"
"Yes!"
Old Zhang nodded excitedly, looking very pleased. He said, "Aren't they great? It took me a long time to collect all these! Especially this bottle of 'Liyang Purple Water Dew', I waited at the top of Qingshan for three days just to collect this little bit!"
"Uh..."
Hearing this, I was speechless. I couldn't help but feel a myriad of emotions. After spending a week, he just collected a few pieces of broken stones and some dirty roots? And he called this impressive?
Seeing his self-satisfied look, I felt helpless and felt like my worldview had been completely refreshed.
"Liyang Purple Water Dew?"
My face full of disbelief as I looked at Old Zhang, a surprised voice suddenly came from outside the door. I didn't need to look to know that Xia Xiaoyi had returned.
At this moment, Xia Xiaoyi was full of excitement. She swiftly ran up to Old Zhang and said eagerly, "It's really 'Liyang Purple Water Dew'! You actually collected such a heavenly treasure?"
"Haha... Naturally. When the old man makes a move, he's unbeatable! In this world, there's nothing 'Old Zhang Next Door' can't find!"
Hearing Xia Xiaoyi's approval, Old Zhang became even more pleased. From the look of it, he seemed to be on cloud nine.
"Tch!"
Watching the two of them complement each other, I felt rather skeptical. I couldn't help muttering, "Isn't it just a few drops of dew? Do you guys have to make such a big deal out of it?"
"You know nothing!"
Before I could finish speaking, Xia Xiaoyi couldn't help but look angry and upset. "This is dew, but it's definitely not ordinary dew! Ordinary dew evaporates at sunrise. But this 'Liyang Purple Water Dew', even when facing the direct sun at noon, it will not evaporate at all. Instead, it can continuously absorb the most positive energy from the sunlight. So, experts in the field also call it pure Yang water."
"Heh, finally, someone knowledgeable is here. The old man's hard work isn't in vain."
"Huh?"
Before he finished speaking, suddenly, Old Zhang's gaze fell on the shopping bag in Xia Xiaoyi's hand, muttering to himself, "Leeks, loaches, sea cucumber..."
"Turns out it's all tonic foods? You two... hehe..."
As he spoke, this disrespectful fellow, actually started winking at me, a mischievous look on his face. "Young man, you need to take it easy..."
"That's right, that's right..."
Hearing this, Zhang Ge finally found a kindred spirit, and nodded repeatedly, then earnestly said, "Youth doesn't know how precious vitality is, in old age..."
"Get lost!"
Before he could finish speaking, both Xia Xiaoyi and I shouted in unison.
"Tsk tsk... Look at this understanding... Haha..."
Alright, now it's completely inexplicable. The more I try to explain, the worse it gets... But why do I still feel a little excited in my heart?
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort and a fierce glare at Lao Zhang and Zhang Ge, Xia Xiaoyi suddenly threw the things in her hand at me and then turned and walked away!
Uh... I didn't say anything, why are you throwing things at me? I'm also a "victim," you know?
"Young man, hurry and chase after her! Your wife ran away!"
Facing Lao Zhang's disrespectful attitude, I really wanted to splash him with water! Fine, fine, I'll go and chase after her, alright?
Seeing Xia Xiaoyi running farther, and Lao Zhang and Zhang Ge looking resentful, I finally caught up. However, I didn't do it to explain to her, but to ask her about her specific experience when she saved me on the 14th floor!
The figure of Lao Zhang has always been a stumbling block in my heart. If this matter is not completely clarified, I'll always be unsure about it.
"Why did you follow me here?"
As I caught up with her, Xia Xiaoyi seemed a bit anxious and asked me loudly while picking up her pace.
I understood her meaning. She was worried that my catching up would further cause misunderstandings with Lao Zhang and the others, giving the feeling that we really did have "something" going on between us.
"I just want to ask you something!"
"Speak!"
Xia Xiaoyi stopped in her tracks and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
"I just want to know how you managed to save me from the 14th floor? And when you saved me, did you encounter anyone else?"
"Anyone else?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaoyi was visibly startled and then asked, "What? Did you see someone else on the 14th floor?"
"Um... I'm not too sure..."
Shaking my head, I finally decided not to tell Xia Xiaoyi about seeing Lao Zhang for now. After all, Lao Zhang went to great lengths and traveled far to find the materials for my foundation. It wouldn't be good to misunderstand him.
"No, I didn't."
Xia Xiaoyi shook her head straightforwardly and then said, "When I saw you, you were lying in the stairwell, bleeding from the head, and seemed to be talking in your sleep..."
"Talking in my sleep?"
Upon hearing this, I also felt a bit stunned, thinking, did all the things that happened to me afterward occur in a dream? In fact, have I not woken up since I hit the wall?
Thinking about it, it was indeed possible. After all, the 14th floor was full of strangeness. If some evil spirit confused my mind, one couldn't say for sure...
But if it was just a dream, wasn't it too lifelike?
"Any other questions?"
Before I could react, Xia Xiaoyi, with an impatient expression, asked. Her demeanor was always so aloof, like a goddess on high. Once she finished talking business, her face immediately turned into a grimace, looking like I owed her money and hadn't paid it back...
"No... no more..."
I subconsciously shook my head and then said, "Um, thank you, thank you for saving me!"
"Oh!"
In response to my gratitude, Xia Xiaoyi said nothing and simply walked away. After walking a few steps, she turned around and threw a small wooden plaquette at me. "Your ghost token!"
Before leaving, she reminded me, "The little guy just evolved into a ghost and is resting inside. It's best not to disturb it if nothing's wrong!"
"Okay!"
Taking the ghost token, I was both surprised and delighted. No wonder I couldn't find Little Radish earlier. I thought it had run away, but it turns out Xia Xiaoyi had put it into the ghost token?
Now, Little Radish finally had a place to "settle down," and I no longer had to worry about it scaring others!
In this way, I owed Xia Xiaoyi a favor again. Well, favors are debts, if it really doesn't work out, then I can only marry her.
This was said so, even I was amused, I was indeed being ridiculous...
As I watched Xia Xiaoyi walk away, I carefully examined the ghost token in my hand. The ghost token was small, only about two fingers wide and three fingers long, all black, with smooth edges. It was engraved with a beautiful pattern and many strange runes, and had a red string through the middle, resembling an amulet at first glance.
However, no matter how I looked at it, I couldn't figure out where Little Radish was hiding. Helplessly, I put the red string around my neck and returned to my humble abode.
"Wow, she even gave you a love token?"
Looking at the ghost token around my neck, Lao Zhang couldn't help but make a joke. However, when he saw clearly what was hanging around my neck, his expression suddenly changed, "Where did you get this thing from?"
"Didn't you just say it?"
I rolled my eyes at Lao Zhang unkindly and said with a smile, "Since it's a love token, it's naturally from Xia Xiaoyi!"
"Oh no!"
Hearing this, Lao Zhang suddenly slapped his thigh, took a big step and rushed out the door.